Today’s Zippy, with two sets of names to savor:
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First, there are the preposterous Dingburger names: Flexo Sodafiber, Glassine Bookpaper, Flemish Spindleplunger. Then there are the products, their mascots, and their names. Commerce and pop culture.
Snap-E-Tom. From a BrandlandUSA column by Garland Pollard on 1/28/10, “Where is Ortega’s Snap E Tom?”
He was the hot tomato of the 1970s brunch, Snap E Tom. But when did this tomato juice mascot disappear from grocery shelves?
Snap E was a product of the Pioneer Ortega Chili Company, and later Heublein, from what I can find. Made with chile peppers, onions and tomatoes, it was a Bloody Mary mix that advertised itself as Bloody Thomas.
According to Kathy Strong’s Southern California Off the Beaten Path, Ortega of Ventura, California was founded by Emilio Ortega. Ortega was headquartered in the historic Ortega Adobe, a structure at 215 East Main Street. Ortega invented a fire roasting process for chili peppers and developed chili, salsa and Snap-E-Tom.
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It turns out that it’s still made and is widely available (you can order it through Amazon); but it’s now made by DelMonte.
The Quik Bunny. From Wikipedia:
Nesquik is a brand of products made by Nestlé. In 1948, Nestlé launched a mix for chocolate-flavored milk called Nestle Quik. This was released in Europe during the 1950s as Nesquik… the name was changed to the worldwide brand Nesquik in 1999.
A cartoon Quik Bunny first appeared on the cans of the strawberry flavor when it was introduced. Later, an anthropomorphic animated bunny wearing a large red “Q” on a collar-like necklace, was introduced in television commercials as the new chocolate Quik mascot. He debuted in 1973.
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Little Lulu for Kleenex. Discussion of the Little Lulu comic in this 7/25/13 posting of mine. Now the Kleenex connection, from the Wikipedia page:
The character was widely merchandised, and was the first mascot for Kleenex tissues; from 1952 to 1965 the character appeared in an elaborate animated billboard in Times Square in New York City.
… Little Lulu was featured on numerous licensed products, and she was the centerpiece of an extensive advertising campaign for Kleenex tissues during the 1940s–50s… Kleenex commercials featuring Little Lulu were regularly seen in the 1950s on Perry Como’s television show.
From 1948:
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